It might seem like 1999 was a different age in the ATV world, but was it
really? When the first Honda
TRX400X (then the EX) arrived, the
great grassy plains of America were
populated by Yamaha Banshees,
Warriors and Blasters. That was as
good as it got for sport quads of the
day, leaving an obvious opening for
a good-handling ATV with decent
power and a reasonable price. Fast-forward 14 years. The ATV world is
now saturated with 60-horsepower
Raptor 700s, 450cc racing machines
and money-is-no-object custom
quads. That leaves an opening for a
good-handling ATV with decent
power and a reasonable price all
over again. And, the 400X is still here
to fill it.

For those of you who are embarrassed to ask about the background
of the Honda 400X, we’ll forgive you.
It’s ancient history to a teenager who
was 2 years old in 1999. The Consent
Decree of 1988 was an agreement
between the federal government and
the ATV industry that restricted and
regulated the quad business. It
caused most ATV makers to lose
interest in high-performance sport
quads. But even though no new sport
quads were manufactured for 10
years, development and technology
continued to progress. So when
Honda decided to re-enter the sport
world with a four-wheeler, it made a
huge jump in sophistication. The
400EX had 10 years of advancement
in geometry and suspension. The
four-stroke motor, too, was a big step
forward for the recreational quad
rider, mostly because of electric start.

After that, we all know what fol-lowed. The 450s arrived and quicklyeclipsed the performance of theHonda 400. Now, many of them aregone simply because they pricedthemselves out of the market. The400X crocodile remains, selling for$6399, which is about $1500 less thanmost of the 450s that remain. It hasseveral advantages beyond price too.

• No coolant. The Honda is air-cooled, and that’s one less fluid to
carry in the spare-parts box.

• Easy maintenance. The four-valve motor has rocker arms, and the
valves can be adjusted in minutes.

• Trail width. At 45. 5 inches across,
the X is narrower than any other 450
or 400.

The Honda 400 motor actually datesback to 1996 when it was created for amotorcycle. Electric start was added,and reverse came a few years later.Honda also beefed up the drivetrainfor the additional loads generated bytwo big rear wheels. In the motorcycleconfiguration, the oil for the dry-sumpmotor was carried in the frame, butHonda engineered a separate oil tankfor the ATV. That, alone, helps keep theengine cooler, but Honda went to theextra lengths to add an oil cooler too.If you’re looking for something flashyin the Honda 400’s chassis description,you’ll look for a long time. By today’sstandards, it’s very conventional. Thefront suspension has double A-armswith shocks that have five preload set-tings and provide 8. 2 inches of wheeltravel. The rear shock is slightly moresophisticated, with an aluminum body,a piggyback reservoir, and full preloadand damping adjustability. It’s con-To keep up with the competition, Honda added a reverse gear to the 397cc, air-cooled engine. It has four valves and a single overhead cam. It’s simple to work on.Any aftermarket muffler will wake up the power nicely.

The 400X is fairly light and very agile. Without any competition
around on a trail ride, it’s hard to find any flaws in the machine.

A fully adjustable rear shock mounted on a cast-aluminum
swingarm provides 9.1 inches of travel under the rider’s seat.